Challenges of circular design adoption in the Nigerian built environment: An empirical study

The architecture, engineering, construction, and operation (AECO) sector significantly contributes to natural resource depletion, pollution, and climate change impacts. The design stage is crucial in the circular economy (CE) approach in the AECO sector. Adopting CE in design faces various challenges, including sociocultural, technical, economic, regulatory, organizational, and technological aspects, among other. Despite increasing research in this area, there is a scarcity of studies addressing these barriers in the Nigerian built environment (NBE), especially at the design firm (DF) level. The study investigated the challenges of CD adoption in the NBE. Through a survey of 307 architectural and engineering DFs in Lagos, Nigeria, data collected were analysed using descriptive and inferential statistical methods. Economic and knowledge-related challenges emerged as the most significant. The findings were attributed to the newness of CD in the NBE, lack of technical CD knowledge, and short-term mindset of the client, influenced by high resource and construction costs due to the current volatile economy and the issues of high foreign exchange in Nigeria. The study recommended promoting public awareness, training of DFs, establishing voluntary stewardships, regulatory frameworks, and incentives, developing pilot projects and forming international collaborations to expedite CD adoption. The outcomes have the potential to facilitate the development of a CD implementation framework in the NBE. By offering new and valuable insights into CD challenges in developing countries' AECO sector, and proposing practical enablers for overcoming the unique barriers in the NBE during the implementation process, the study contributed to the global discourse on CD adoption.